Posted on 03/13/2014 at 01:50 PM by Global Reach
What is it that we can do to help ensure our students are College Ready when they leave our PK-12 educational systems? The following principles and ideas were shared by David Conley (2013), a professor at the University of Oregon and CEO of EPIC, Educational Policy Improvement Center.
Seven Key Principles of College Readiness:
• Principle 1: Create and maintain a college-going culture in the school
• Principle 2: Create a core academic program that is aligned with and leads to college readiness by the end of 12th grade.
• Principle 3: Teach key self-management skills and expect students to use them.
• Principle 4: Make college real by preparing students for the complexity of applying to college and making the transition successfully.
• Principle 5: Create assignments and grading policies in high school that more closely approximate college expectations.
• Principle 6: Make the senior year meaningful and challenging.
• Principle 7: Build partnerships with and connections to postsecondary programs and institutions.
Think about the learning our students are most commonly during in our classrooms and consider the “Rule of Fourths”: ¼ of instructional time on declarative learning; another ¼ on procedural learning; ¼ on conditional learning; and ¼ on conceptual learning. Give students tasks and activities that require thought (analysis, interpretation, evaluation, argumentation, and reasoning) and gauge student development as strategic thinkers.
David T. Conley, Ph.D., Professor, University of Oregon; CEO, EPIC
